FDA Warns Companies about Unproven MRSA Prevention Claims

Some antiseptic products and hand sanitizers claim they prevent MRSA infections, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants consumers to know the claims are unproven.

MRSA can cause severe infections that do not respond to standard treatment, and in some cases, can lead to death.

The FDA is taking a hard line with companies who say — without agency approval — that their products prevent MRSA infections and other diseases.

Examples of some of these claims include:

“kills over 99.9% of MRSA”

“helps prevent skin infections caused by MRSA and other germs”

“is effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including MRSA”

Despite the claims, the FDA advises consumers that it has not approved ANY products that claim to prevent MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella or H1N1 flu.

The FDA issued warning letters to four companies that make or distribute products that can be bought over-the-counter, giving the companies 15 days to correct violations or face legal action. The companies are:

Clean Well All-Natural Hand Sanitizer, Clean Well All-Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes, and Clean Well All-Natural Antibacterial Foaming Hand Soap, by Oh So Clean Inc., also known as CleanWell Company

About MRSA

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) is type of staph bacteria that is resistant to treatment with certain antibiotics. In healthcare settings, MRSA occurs mostly among patients who have invasive medical procedures, invasive devices or who have weakened immune systems.

Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub.

Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed.

Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.

Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.

Edward Cox, M.D., M.P.H., director of FDA’s Office of Antimicrobial Products, said in a press release:

“Staphylococcus aureus itself is a very aggressive organism. It’s often associated with patients in hospitals who have weakened immune systems, but the bacterium can also cause significant skin infections and abscesses in a normal, healthy person. And it can get into the bloodstream and, less frequently, may involve the heart valve, which is very difficult to treat.

“With MRSA, a number of the antibiotic drugs we typically used often don’t work, so we lose treatment options we used to rely upon.”

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31 comments

Nothing like the water and plain old soap along with the once around verson of Happy Birtday song for length to wash, followed by a thorough rinse....If a friend of our family had followed this rule instead of all the above listed type sanitizers and bleach on the surfaces of his home and floors several times a day 24/7, he might be alive today. Why ? He had a liver problem and was so afraid of getting an infection that he continually desanitized. In doing so, he destroyed his own immune system, and the next time he ended up in the hospital and had a surgery, he contracted MRSA and because of the bad liver functions and absolutely no anti-bodies to fight it off, he died.

it's not so much that the hand gels or anti-biotics or anti-bacterial handwash are useless it's the active ingredients in them such as triclosan, the microbes become resistant because they are overused......to kill the germs with these method you need to use active ingredients that are not well known...so that the microbes do need recognise it and they can die.
also perphaps charcoal could work for MRSA as charcoal is used for poisoning and it's natural

for an immigrant in ontario one's health coverage starts 3 months after landing. now, suppose you don't have the funds to seek medical help for something contagious you've discovered a month later. you ignore it and hope it'll go away.

meanwhile, you have infected several people who infected several other people and next thing you know you have SARS all over the place.

because of this everybody is warned to "protect" themselves with hand sanitizers and obediently the public will follow the piper and wipe out their healthy bacteria with all kinds of chemicals and now even more people get sick...

There are colonies of staph on doorknobs, walls, other household areas and people. It doesn't affect most people, but as the FDA states, it is common to find it in people with compromised immune systems. One thing worth mentioning: your pets can get it, too! It doesn't always get diagnosed so a word to the wise... If you or a pet develop an infection that does not respond to medication, insist that a culture be taken. Do not switch to a different antibiotic.

Thanks for helping to get the word out about the dangers of these products. They should be banned. The worst part is that we don't even have much of a choice. They are in so many products we use daily and don't even know they are there.

I take no notice of the FDA. They are funded by big Pharma / Obama to do their bidding. They will approve the worst possible drugs and oppose anything that heals and cures. They are the devils advocates and do exactly the opposite to what is desirable. All natural remedies that work are forbidden through them . So I say stuff the FDA( Federal Death Administration),they are run by a bunch of crooks.